Arizona: Hemp-Farming Bill Voted Down

Arizona’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted against a bill that would allow industrial hemp farming in the state.

Hemp farming is illegal in most states, despite the fact that smoking the plant, which is related to marijuana plants, won’t get you stoned.

Just as more pro-marijuana bills are showing up around the country, there have been proposals in more than a dozen states to legalize industrial hemp farming, too.

Now it’s not likely that it’s going to be legalized in Arizona this year.

The panel voted it down despite a prospective hemp farmer, Jesse Lopez — who’s also the vice president of the pro-marijuana group AZ4NORML — giving testimony to the panel describing his plans for growing hemp.

Lopez insisted there’s definitely a local market for hemp, and Democratic Senator Andrea Dalessandro didn’t seem to disagree, noting that she found hemp seed at Costco that was made in Canada.

Despite this, the committee narrowly voted down the bill, with members of both parties being in support and opposition of the bill.

Aside from Dalessandro’s mention of her encounter with the hemp seed, none of the senators aired their complaints with the bill.